Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 33.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) recorded 33.2% for self-employed, total (% of total employment) in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 40.4% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 31.8%, in 2021.
That places Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 38.2% | — |
| 1992 | 38.4% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 38.6% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 39.3% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 39.9% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 40.3% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 40.3% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 40.3% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 40.2% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 40.1% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 40.4% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 39.4% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 39.0% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 37.6% | -3.5% |
| 2005 | 36.8% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 36.0% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 35.3% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 35.0% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 35.2% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 35.0% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 34.8% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 34.3% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 33.9% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 33.7% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 33.3% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 33.2% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 33.1% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 32.6% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 32.5% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 32.2% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 31.8% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 34.0% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 33.5% | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 33.4% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 33.2% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.5% | 38.2% | 40.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 37.5% | 35.0% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.6% | 32.5% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.0% | 31.8% | 34.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More work & labour data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 69.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 56.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 31.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 49.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 40.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 50.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 63.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 76.7% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 64.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 44.0% (2025)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 33.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 40.4% in 2001.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.8% in 2021.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.